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JAMES LIPTON WITH SAMUEL L JACKSON

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is James Lipton, for he is truly his brother's keeper, and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who would attempt to poison Samuel L
Jackson, in this one hour interview made in 2002. Amen.

Now who's the coolest cat in the class? Is it the man in the
hat, Samuel L Jackson? Or the man with the beard, James Lipton?

Nah! Not saying. But what I will say is that James starts
off this staged interview by asking Sam the following questions: (1) About his
upbringing and his time in academia. (2) What his relationship was like with his
estranged father. (3) How television and movies influenced his views on life.
(4) What where the circumstances surrounding his Aunt Edna encouraging him to first perform on stage.

Here, check out some of Mister Jackson's responses in quote-given
form:

I
liked being the big fish in the small pond; it was my wife's idea to move
to New York City.

Spike
Lee won't say a lot -- on or off the set.

I
got a job I love; and I want everybody around me to be as happy as I am.

I
took so many drugs, I didn't know what the f*ck I was doing.

Gator
Dance!

I
like who I am. Greed was a factor. But I still had the strength within me
to come out the other side.

Acting
is like performing the perfect golf swing -- the less you think about it,
the better the result.

I
can't wait to see what I'm fighting in Star Wars. Ha!

I
beat Tiger Woods at golf. First time.

Hey! Did you notice Sam's Star Wars quote? Well, he does
talk about some of his movie work too you know:

On
'Do the Right Thing' -- My character was the conscious of the community.

On 'Jungle
Fever' -- I played a drug dearer. I did a lot of research for that role,
ha!

On
'Pulp Fiction' -- Quentin would describe a scene using many other films as
references. He's Mister Enthusiastic.

On
'Jackie Brown' -- I like all of my characters to look very different. I
designed Ordell's beard myself.

On
'Time to Kill' -- I based my character on the story.

On
'The Negotiator' -- My character was a very logical person, yet was still
a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

On
'Changing Lanes' -- I was Doyle. There's a time in everybody's life when
they question what they are doing.

On
'Star Wars Episode 2: The Attack of The Clones' -- If I tell you anything
about it, I guarantee you I won't be in episode three.

Now in closing this show, Sam answers questions posed by James
from the Bernard Pivot structured questionnaire; where we learn that he likes
the word 'Mother f*cker', and hates the word 'No'. After that, he then answer's
subsequent questions posed by the studious audience, about: acing with his wife
as his wife, regaining his strength after a painful loss, and merchandising.

THE REVIEW:

Honest. Real. Inspirational. And a
men amongst men. That's the impression I got from Samuel L Jackson after watching
him in this episode of 'Inside the Actors Studio'. I mean -- Wow -- what a great guy he really is! All of his answers were real honest and full of fun.
And never did I hear him once pontificate or boast about what he's did or why he did
it. To me, Sam is just the epitome of the American Dream come to life. The false-start. The
period of adjustment. The fanning of hope. Plus the fledgling wish which one day
became a reality.

Honest to God. Sam is a really awe
inspiring human being. Here, hust check out these facts for a taste of what I mean
by this. (1) Although Samuel Lego Jackson was born in WashingtonD.C. -- on the 21st of December, 1948 -- he was brought up by his
Grandmother and Auntie in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
(2) Sam only met his father twice in his life before he died of alcohol
poisoning. (3) In 1969 the aforementioned Mister Jackson was one of the many students
who 'locked-away' Martin Luther King Senior in a room at his college -- MorehouseCollege. This was partly because Martin was on the board of trustees, and Sam wanted to shake-up the racial system
there. (4) Sam was inspired to become an actor after watching a performance
done by the 'Negro Ensemble Company' -- an erstwhile establishment that he
would then go on and join. (5) Sam met his eventual wife -- LaTanya Estelle Richards
-- briefly at Spellman Collage, and then when he joined the 'Black Image
Company' a few years later. (6) When Bill
Cosby wasn't able to attend the rehearsals of his hit sit-com -- 'The Cosby
Show' -- Sam was hired as a 'stand-in' to take his place. (7) For a period of
his life, Samuel L Jackson was addicted to both drugs and alcohol. But I'm
happy to say that he became a much more prolific performer when the legendary
actor, Morgan
Freeman, and the director, Spike Lee, encouraged him to channel his energies in
a more positive direction. (8) Will 'Sam the Man' strike thee down if you don't
click on his website -- samuelljackson.com

Well, lets' face the facts. Sam battled his way through a
turbulent childhood, a heavy drug addiction, and any racial snafus that came his way, and became a super-star that any man would love to be. Yeah. Even me. Your ever loving pale-skinned reviewer. I
would love to swap places with this Nubian legend in a heart-beat.

I could imagine it now -- sitting in a diner -- hat on
backwards -- and reciting his bible-slanted monologue from 'Pulp Fiction'.
Granted, I'd most probably insert a Python
reference for good measure. But that's OK. Yeah. Sam would approve. Because he knows
that acting is all about good instincts and communal memory, both feeding off of
each other in a very personable way.

Not once in this interview with James did he state 'that was wrong' or 'that was right'. Sam knows that knowing who you really are is the key
to performing and drama. Moreover, Sam's very charming warm to boot; and I just
loved how he said it 'like it is', without adding any airs or graces into the
proceedings.

Sam is the man. And he will always be the man. No matter
what the f*ck I say in this prose-piece of b*llshit. Say no more.

THE RATING: A

JAMES LIPTON WITH SAMUEL L JACKSON
Reviewed by David Lee Andrews
on
February 20, 2013
Rating: 5